Rural Alston Moor to leverage GPON technology to become one of the nation’s most wired communities
ALSTON MOOR, Cumbria, UK – April 23, 2012 – Calix, Inc. (NYSE:CALX, news, filings) today announced that Cybermoor Networks has selected the Ethernet eXtensible Architecture (EXA) Powered E7 Ethernet Service Access Platform (ESAP) for its Cybermoor fibre broadband project, a pioneering new initiative to bring ultra high-speed broadband services to the local residents and businesses of Alston Moor in Cumbria, UK. The Cybermoor project will thrust this rural community, in the heart of the Pennine mountain range, to the forefront of advanced broadband services in the UK, leveraging local and Rural Development Programme for England funds to bring gigabit speeds and new opportunity to one of the country’s most remote regions.
The Cybermoor fibre broadband project will utilize powerful gigabit passive optical network (GPON) technology delivered via the Calix E7 and 716GE-I indoor optical network terminals (ONTs) to provide a world-class fibre access network to residents and businesses on Alston Moor. This advanced broadband services network will be capable of delivering a host of new services, such as high-definition video, faster movie downloads, and access to telehealth and other e-services.
Daniel Heery, Cybermoor Project Manager said: “We believe that this network will be transformative to the community of Alston Moor, whose residents will be among the first in the country to become a UK Fibre Optic Community. A fibre network at the heart of the community will provide high capacity connections to local residents and businesses and will help to attract people and businesses who want to live in a rural area and benefit from high-speed connections. With this powerful infrastructure, we will in fact be better served than many of the larger towns and cities of the country not only for today, but for some time to come.”
Cybermoor Networks has chosen GPON technology, a flexible, highly versatile technology that is now becoming widely available, to drive this new network. Acting on the advice of network specialist Fibre Options Ltd, Cybermoor Networks will combine the Calix E7 GPON platform with Calix 716GE-I indoor ONTs in homes and businesses for a full system solution.
The Cybermoor fibre network will initially cover the most populous parts of Alston Moor, starting with the centre of Alston town, but will be extended to cover more remote areas as funding becomes available. The unique modularity of the Calix E7, which can be deployed in 1 rack unit (1RU) increments, provides an ideal solution for this network that needs to grow in stages.
Subscribers on Alston Moor will use the Calix 716GE-I indoor ONTs to bring four high-speed ports and two voice ports into the home through a single fiber access connection to the network. This offers a highly flexible, in-home infrastructure for delivering voice, TV, and high-speed internet access, and enables the subscriber to choose different Internet Service Providers (ISPs) per port if needed. The highly versatile Calix indoor ONT also creates powerful networks for businesses in a small office/home office (SOHO) environment.
Andy Lockhart, senior vice president of international sales and marketing at Calix, said: “Few areas in the UK are more remote and rural than Cumbria, yet even fewer areas in the country will be as wired for the future as Alston Moor. We applaud the way that residents are taking their destiny into their own hands to meet the bandwidth needs of the community. The Cybermoor project is both visionary and innovative, and we are delighted to be able to bring our expertise and leadership in rural broadband implementations in other countries to help support this ambitious project.”
The Cybermoor fibre broadband project is one of the first projects in the UK to include self-funding as a key element in its strategy for next generation access. Cybermoor secured funding from the Rural Development Programme for England, a Government program launched by DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) to support rural areas. The additional funding will be secured by a community share offer program aimed at attracting private investors across the UK.
UK network specialist Fibre Options has played a key role in the implementation, recommending the Calix solution as the best option for Cybermoor. Neil Bradley, Sales Manager of Fibre Options, said: “Calix is a world leader in GPON technologies, and was the obvious choice for this deployment. The modularity and scalability of the Calix E7 platform is perfectly suited for Cybermoor’s incremental growth strategy, and the Calix 716GE-I indoor ONTs provide the flexibility to cover the needs of both residential and small business subscribers.”
About Cybermoor
The Cybermoor project started in 2001 in response to the UK Government’s “Wired up Communities” initiative which aimed to connect disadvantaged communities to the internet. Alston Moor was selected owing to its remoteness and the distance that people had to travel to access basic services. The original funding provided computers for households, a wireless broadband network for homes and businesses and a community website. Cybermoor Networks Ltd was set up in 2003 as the UK’s first broadband community co-operative with the aim of retaining control of the vital digital infrastructure within the community, rather than giving it away to distant multinational telecoms companies.
The first phase of Cybermoor’s fiber optic network has now been completed, linking the town of Alston with the village of Nenthead with the intention of providing Next Generation Access to the primary school, businesses and residents. The route is five miles long and uses locally manufactured ducting and fiber optic cables. The network also uses a wireless internet backbone to bring fast broadband via a microwave link (capacity of 250Mb/sec) from Northumberland County Council’s fiber network at Prudhoe to Alston. Calix will provide the access platform and end-user terminal equipment that will complete the connection.
Cybermoor Networks Ltd. is one of the pilot projects in the government-funded Community Shares scheme which supports communities in raising finance for local projects such as alternative energy and local shops. It is also among the first to use a community share offer scheme to raise funds for next generation access.
About Calix
Calix (NYSE: CALX) is a global leader in access innovation. Its Unified Access portfolio of broadband communications access systems and software enable communications service providers worldwide to be the broadband provider of choice to their subscribers. For more information, visit the Calix website at www.calix.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based upon management’s current expectations and are inherently uncertain. Forward-looking statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this release, and we assume no obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect any event or circumstance after the date of this release, except as required by law. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from current expectations based on risks and uncertainties affecting the Company’s business. The reader is cautioned not to unduly rely on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Additional information on potential factors that could affect Calix’s results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in its report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, filed with the SEC on February 24, 2012, available at http://www.sec.gov.
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